Fisherfolk expect Bongbong Marcos to outline plans for WPS, local production at Sona
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — An alliance of fisherfolk said they expect President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to flesh out his plans on asserting sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea, empowering local fisheries production, and protecting coastal communities during his first State of the Nation Address (Sona).
Marcos, who assumed office last June 30, will deliver his Sona at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City on July 25.
On Wednesday, members of the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) expressed their hopes for the issue of national sovereignty to “take the center stage” during Marcos’ address.
“We want to hear how the Marcos administration would peacefully and diplomatically assert our territory amid Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea. It can be recalled that Marcos Jr. missed this very pressing national issue during his inaugural speech,” Pamalakaya national spokesperson Ronnel Arambulo told INQUIRER.net in a text message.
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Arambulo then urged Marcos to show the local and international community that he “will not embrace the mendicant and subservient foreign policies of his predecessor in favor [of] China.”
“He is politically and constitutionally compelled to uphold the arbitral ruling on the South China Sea, to recover most of our territorial waters and marine resources in the West Philippine Sea,” he stressed.
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Marcos, concurrently the chief of the agriculture department, is also expected to talk about how his administration will push back against import-liberalization policies that are deemed harmful to the local fishing industry.
“He should unconditionally renounce importation of fishery and marine products. Instead, Marcos Jr. should pursue strengthening of local production in a form of livelihood subsidy, aid, and protection of fishing waters and marine biodiversity against all forms of destructive projects,” Arambulo said.
READ: Fisherfolk slam fresh round of fish imports
Rejecting reclamation projects that result in “massive destruction of marine resources and forcible ejectment of small fisherfolks” is also among Pamalakaya’s pointers for Marcos’ first Sona.
“In Manila Bay, for instance, there are around 50 pending reclamation projects covering more than 30, 000 hectares of its fishing waters. The Marcos administration should recalibrate the Manila Bay rehabilitation program of its predecessor into actual restoration of mangrove areas, seagrasses, and fishing resources that were wiped out by previous and ongoing reclamation activities,” Arambulo added.
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